


To Old Friends.  And Sometimes Enemies

by JustAround



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, cut lines, the sea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 01:23:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12222888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAround/pseuds/JustAround
Summary: Will adjusts once again to land.





	To Old Friends.  And Sometimes Enemies

**Author's Note:**

> I vaguely remembering reading that a line was cut from the third PoTC movie, specifying that the Captain of the Flying Dutchman would serve for 10 years and if his true love greeted him on land after those 10 years, he would be freed. This obviously ignores everything that happened after the third movie.

The sand was warm under his feet. The fine grains gently scraped against the bottom of his feet, covering his toes as they sunk slightly into the damp sand. For a moment, he just stood there and closed his eyes, reveling in the feel of the sand, enjoying ground that did not sway as he walked across it. After spending ten years on the Flying Dutchman, not once touching land during his entire service, Will was still finding himself adjusting to the feel of earth, of firm ground underneath him.

It was still strange to him, to wake up every morning with the feel of his heart beating in his chest. That had been the most difficult thing to get used to, again, the sound and feel of his heart as it supplied life to his body. The wooden box that imprisoned his heart now held that of another, of the person who had taken over the duty of the Flying Dutchman. He felt empty without the box, though he knew nothing of his was in it. It was the routine of checking it every day, or what constituted a day on the ship. Time moved differently, there, though he somehow knew when he would return to shore. Somehow, the ship knew when the duty of his captain was up.

He took a few more steps across the beach, a small smile on his face as he walked towards the small town where he was staying. Life was quiet, here, with the familiar sounds of the sea. He knew he wouldn’t stay here long; this was just a place for him to settle into a new life, a life he didn’t know was waiting for him.

“Will?” The sound of his name caused him to look up and squint slightly in the glare of the setting sun. Elizabeth walked towards him, reaching out with a hand towards him. He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, closing his eyes as he kissed her.

“I will never tire of this,” he whispered as they broke apart. The smile on her face was as brilliant as the sun after a long storm. “Never in a million years.”

“I missed you,” she said, kissing him lightly. “Every day, I waited for the moment when I would stand on the shore to welcome you back.”

Still, she reluctantly pulled away, though her fingers stayed entwined with us. Disappointment shone in his eyes at the loss of her body against us, but she just smiled again. “You have visitors. I did not want you to miss them.”

His head tilted slightly at the worlds, but a smile tugged at his lips as he allowed her to lead him back towards town, to the house they were staying. “I hope the visitors are worth losing time spent with you.”

“I think you will find them entertaining,” she smirked and opened the door. Will stopped suddenly in the doorway as the sun illuminated the two people sitting at the table, alternating between looking around and eyeing each other warily.

“Jack!” he exclaimed. “Barbossa!”

Elizabeth smiled and moved to the table, glaring at both of them as she grabbed the weapons they had placed on the table and lightly tossed them to the wall of the room. Barbossa rolled his eyes at her and turned back to Will, giving him a grin. “Mr. Turner. A pleasure to see you on land once again.”

Before his time on the ship, Will would have acknowledged the two pirate captains with annoyed amusement. Now, however, seeing both of them here, knowing both traveled to this quiet island to see him, he stepped forward and hugged them in turn, eliciting a look of surprise. For all the double-crossing, Barbossa had married he and Elizabeth. And Jack…well, Jack was one of the greatest friends he could have.

Also one of the least trustworthy, but still one of the greatest.

“It seems the time on the ship got to your head,” Jack said, ruffled by the show of affection. “You aren’t growing any tentacles, are you? Or growing barnacles, having strange appendages appear out of nowhere?”

“No, Jack,” Will said as he slowly sank into one of the two vacant chairs. “As I did not disavow my duty, I am unchanged.”

“For which I am eternally grateful,” Elizabeth added as she placed four overflowing tankards in front of them and quickly followed those with plates of food. The food was basic, bland, but all that Will could stand at the moment. He was still adjusting, after all, to needing real sustenance once again.

Will could see Jack smirking over at Elizabeth, no doubt planning to come up with some way to continue his previous comments. To circumvent Jack from continuing, he held up his mug and said, “To friends.”

Barbossa raised an eyebrow at the comment, but gamely followed suit. He looked slyly over at Jack and added, “To enemies.”

“To pirates,” Elizabeth chimed in with a smirk of her own.

“To the sea,” Jack finished, clinking his mug against theirs before taking a long gulp of the liquid. Elizabeth and Barbossa followed, drinking out of their own mugs. 

Only Will sat pensively for a moment, considering Jack’s comment. The years at the sea were probably the most peaceful he had ever encountered and he knew he would always associate the sound of the ocean with his days ferrying spirits to the afterworld. He would live a lifetime and never forget. When Elizabeth looked at him quizzically, he merely smiled and echoed, “To the sea,” before taking his own drink.

As the others began eating, and arguing comfortably with one other, Will sat quietly and took in the scene, amusement playing on his features as Jack and Barbossa went back and forth on some particular event that occurred while Will was gone. Elizabeth’s hand snuck into his and he turned to look at her, squeezing her hand back. It would take him time to adjust, still, but this is what he wanted. A life with the woman he loved, his son, and the strangely entertaining pirates.

And maybe a little adventure. Will would not mind that as well.


End file.
